Sound Bites

School of Language | Cake Shop | 3.08.2008

Maybe the crazy weather kept people away -- I saw more than one fallen tree -- but nonetheless a very good, if sparsely attended, show by School of Language at Cake Shop on Saturday night.

I got there super early, as I'd tried to go see Lightspeed Champion at Union Pool only to find it "sold out" though I'm guesing it was really "guestlisted out" as no one in their right minds would pay the $8 service charge on a $12 ticket that Ticketmaster was asking for this show. (Seriously, why does a venue this small not use Ticketweb? I love the actual room but the people running UP move further and further up my shitlist every time I [try to] see a show there.)No one seemed to actually be in performance room of Union Pool but there were easily 30 people waiting around to see if spots might open up. I said screw it, not wanting to risk School of Language selling out or something (no advanced tickets at all for Cake Shop) I just headed over there.

I was so early I caught their soundcheck and stuck around, well, because I had nothing else to do. It turned out I didn't need to go so early, but you never know in these situations and after being rebuked at Union Pool I didn't feel like chancing it. Which meant I caught all the bands on the bill. One was pretty good (Chicago's The Poison Arrows) in a Sonic Youth/Afgan Whigs sort of way, and the other... um... did a sloppy cover of Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence" that was the most memorable point in their set.

Anyway, David Brewis and his ace hired band (drummer Ryan Rapsys, and bassist Doug McCombs) ruled the night. I always considered Field Music to be a pretty tight band, but when you've got two ringers in your band it's hard not to notice, especially when it's the rhythm section who always elevate (or lower) the quality of a show. "I can't believe these guys are here playing my songs," Brewis gushed but he's no slouch either, obviously. With only one, short, album the set was obviously brief, filled out a bit with a cover of Roxy Music's "If There is Something." Like the album, the show was bookended with the phonetic babble of "Rockist" songs (that babble being canned, via some sort of little mp3 device...I think), the first of which I shot video of:

Mar 10 - DC9 Washington DC, Washington DC
Mar 11 - Beachland Ballroom Cleveland, Ohio
Mar 12 - Sneaky Dee's Toronto, Ontario
Mar 13 - Pike Room (Crofoot) Pontiac, Michigan
Mar 14 - Empty Bottle Chicago, Illinois
Mar 15 - Scrummage University Detroit, Michigan
Mar 17 - John Waldron Arts Center Bloomington, Indiana
Mar 19 - Nectar Lounge Seattle, Washington
Mar 20 - Towne Lounge Portland, Oregon
Mar 21 - Hemlock Tavern San Francisco, California
Mar 22 - Spaceland Los Angeles, California
Mar 23 - Club Congress Tucson, Arizona
Mar 25 - Mohawk Austin, Texas
Mar 26 - TBA Norman, Oklahoma
Mar 27 - Record Bar Kansas City, Missouri
Mar 28 - Billiken Club St. Louis, Missouri

Ungdomskulen | Cake Shop | 1.20.2008

"This next song is about a very popular sport in Norway that we hope to get in the Olympics. We hear it's popular in New York too. It's called 'Gloryhole'" -- Kristian Stockhaus, singer/guitarist, Ungdomskulen.

On Friday, a friend was asking if I was going to see Ungdomdkulen this weekend. I said "who are they?" She said "Norwegian metal." No thanks. But then I was in the neighborhood on Sunday night, having gone to see The World Without Magic at Mercury Lounge. I didn't have to work Monday, so I thought "why not?" I'm not a fan of the genre in any way (unlike my downstairs neighbor, Pat)  but I do like that Of Montreal song where Kevin Barnes talks about "the darkness of black metal bands."

Ungdomskulen are not black metal. Or even just metal. They're kind of punk, in a Les Savvy Fav kind of way, though less nutty. But a lot of fun. I think they want to be a black metal band, and like that stuff, but are just sort of goofing on it. The '80s sweaters and furry hat was a giveaway. Also: no unecessary umlauts. Or screaming. Not that they would deny not being a black metal band. They do, however, rock. And I liked them way more than I ever expected to.

The crowd at Cake Shop was small, due probably to the frigid temperature on Sunday, was nonetheless enthusiastic. The drummer lost his shirt after the first song. We got most of their album Cry-Baby, which I bought after the show. The best song, I'm pretty sure, was somewhat relentless "Modern Drummer," and show-closer "Spartacus," which ended in balloons and stage-rushing. I rushed into a taxi right after.

MP3: Ungdomskulen - "Modern Drummer" (Buy it!)

Here's some footage of "Spartacus," though my camera ran out of memory before the song ended:

And you too can rock Norway-style. Tourdates...

Jan 22 O´Briens        Allston, Massachusetts
Jan 23 AS220        Providence, Rhode Island
Jan 24 The Nines    Ithaca, New York
Jan 25 Lee´s Palace    Toronto, Ontario
Jan 26 The Pike Room    Pontiac, Michigan
Jan 27 Grog Shop    Cleveland, Ohio
Jan 28 Jammin Java    Vienna, Virginia
Jan 29 The M Room    Philladelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 30 Tea Bazaar    Charlottesville, Virginia
Jan 31 The Earl        Atlanta, Georgia
Feb 1 Tasty World    Athens, Georgia
Feb 2 Yau House        Charlotte, NC
Feb 4 The Viper Room     Hollywood, California
Feb 6 SPACELAND        Los Angeles, California

Tally Ho! The Clean to Play NYC?

Well here's a bit of a mystery. Heather at Ugly Floral Blouse emailed me asking if I knew anything about The Clean playing Cake Shop at the end of the month. Um, no I hadn't. A visit to the venue's website did indeed show three -- three! -- nights featuring the legendary New Zealand band, Nov. 29 - Dec. 1. This would be pretty big news if true, so I went to Merge Records' website, the label who put out the entirely-essential Anthology (#85 on Blender's Top 100 Indie Rock Albums Ever) and there were the three shows.

It kind of makes sense. Singer David Kilgour is in America touring for his new solo album (my review of his recent Union Hall show here); his brother and Clean drummer Hamish lives here in New York. The big question is whether Robert Scott will be apart of these shows' lineup. He's the third constant in the Clean over the band's nearly 30 year existence, who also fronts the wonderful Bats (who played Cake Shop, upstairs, last year), and that would really make it something. Otherwise, it's the Brothers Kilgour. Either way, it will be the first time Clean songs have been played on these shores in a long, long time. I know they toured the U.S. in 1990 for their then comeback album, Vehicle. Not sure if they've been back since then (probably) but it's still a big event. Certainly one you'd think wouldn't have slipped out as quietly as this.

UPDATE: According to Cake Shop's website, it is the Brothers Kilgour and Robert Scott... hooray!

The extremely nice Cake Shop folks obviously are Flying Nun fans, so I guess I can't begrudge them having the shows but I do kinda hope they announce another show somewhere else, like Union Hall or Mercury Lounge. I can't imagine the average Clean fan (mid-30s at the youngest) enjoying the nonexistent sightlines and other problems the venue has. But three Clean shows at Cake Shop are better than none at all.

If you're unfamiliar with perhaps New Zealand's most influential band, here are two gems, including the indispensable "Tally Ho." They're both on Anthology which you should buy right now.

MP3: The Clean - Tally Ho

MP3: The Clean - Diamond Shine